GM Volt's price induces some sticker shock

[alienlovechild 75]

The long-anticipated Chevrolet Volt, General Motors' electric car, will cost $41,000, the company announced Tuesday, leaving consumers to decide whether its environmental appeal is worth a price far above that of similarly sized conventional autos.

Electric-car technology has been around for years, but the high cost to make the vehicles has prevented automakers from producing them for the mass market. The price announcements for the Volt and its electric rival, the Nissan Leaf, have been highly anticipated as a result. Nissan, the only other major manufacturer expected to bring such a vehicle to market this year, said the Leaf will cost $32,780.

GM and Nissan are relying on a $7,500 federal tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles to offset some of the added cost, and they're hoping that the allure of their novel power source will make up the rest.

"The Volt is a game-changing product," said Tony Posawatz, GM's vehicle line director for the Volt, which is expected to hit showrooms in November 2011.

The Volt can travel 40 miles on its battery charge and an additional 340 miles on a gasoline-powered generator. The all-electric Leaf has a range of 100 miles.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.

But some analysts said they doubt that electric cars can reach a broad audience in the near term. Hybrid cars took about eight years to reach the million-unit sales mark in the United States, according to Energy Department figures.

To move the industry along and bolster U.S. manufacturing, the Obama administration has put its weight, and billions of dollars, behind an effort to develop electric cars and batteries in the United States.

In developing the Volt, GM is seeking to fulfill its promise to Congress during the government bailout to move beyond gas-guzzlers. The company had been planning the Volt long before it neared bankruptcy last year, however, as an attempt to leapfrog Toyota in the quest for fuel-efficient vehicles.

"Because of advances in the manufacturing, [battery] costs are expected to come down by nearly 70 percent in the next few years," Obama said at the site of a planned battery factory in Michigan. "That's going to make electric and hybrid cars and trucks more affordable for more Americans."

Both the Volt and the Leaf will cost considerably more than rival gasoline-powered compact sedans, such as the Honda Civic or the Ford Focus, each of which costs under $20,000.

Consumers must also get accustomed to plugging the cars in at home. It takes hours to recharge the vehicles, and in the absence of a network of public recharging stations, drivers that run out of juice may need a tow truck.

GM plans to produce 10,000 Volts next year, and 30,000 in 2012, company officials have said. Nissan has indicated that it will sell about 25,000 Leafs in the United States next year.

On purchase price, the Leaf is significantly less, though the leasing prices are very similar. The Volt will also be available by lease with a monthly payment of $350 for 36 months and $2,500 due at signing, the company said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/27/AR2010072705834_pf.html

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I'll pass on the $800/month car payment to save $100/month in gas.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

electric cars are a great novelty, but at the end of the day, until they can get you across the country, they are worthless pieces of ######.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

electric cars are a great novelty, but at the end of the day, until they can get you across the country, they are worthless pieces of ######.

Not if you drive less than 40 miles round trip. Of course, if it was a Toyota it would be loved by all here.

[William33 110]

Even though I am a hardline US Patriot, I will always defer to Japanese technology on automobiles.

Why: Because, over the years, I have repaired too many Ford's and Chevy's before the note was paid off. This has never been the case with a Japanese vehicle, including my 3 years in Japan.

It all boils down to economics, plain and simple. Why pay for "regular" repairs, when you can get 200K of trouble free miles with a Japanese vehicle?

Seems like a slam dunk to me....

[mawilson 2,133]

electric cars are a great novelty, but at the end of the day, until they can get you across the country, they are worthless pieces of ######.

I believe the Volt can, since it has a backup generator.

The Volt can travel 40 miles on its battery charge and an additional 340 miles on a gasoline-powered generator. The all-electric Leaf has a range of 100 miles.

[William33 110]

Electric cars will be ####### in our generation, just like cell phones were to our parents. In about 20 years, the vehicle battery technology will be more advanced, reasonably priced and therefore viable for the average consumer.

[DEDixon 39]

electric so basically a coals burner as soon as you plug it in.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

electric so basically a coals burner as soon as you plug it in.

There are people (in California of all places) who have PV (solar) powered homes along with electric vehicles that they plug in to their home. Imagine the possibilities.

[DEDixon 39]

There are people (in California of all places) who have PV (solar) powered homes along with electric vehicles that they plug in to their home. Imagine the possibilities.

trouble is that it is common knowledge that a huge percentage of americans sell their home every 5 years. solar conversions do not return one's investment for a very long time so only the rich who have money to waste will seriously consider.

and glad you mentioned California since it is the poorest example of all for installing solar. my energy costs are less than 100 a month! i don't need A/C in the summer and i don't need a huge amount of heat in the winter so it takes a lot longer to return one's investment so again wide installations of solar isn't going to happen even with a rebate program.

although it gets hot in the california's central valley, those people aren't california's rich so they would never seriously consider installing solar because 1) they can't afford and 2) in the back of their mind, they know they will be moving within 5 years (moving to a better place in same town is what many do) and 3) bathroom/kitchen install has better ROI.

maybe you have never owned a house so you haven't ever had to decide how and where to invest in it - most people consider the kitchen and bathrooms with new flooring throughout then they are done until they move. fresh paint and curb appeal immediately before they move not solar.

any smart home owner should also realize solar needs to be maintained so yet another cost that destroys ROI.

mini solar installations isn't the way to go in my opinion. i live where it is windy but no way i'm installing a windmill - too expensive and ROI is a long long way out. massive wind farms, massive solar panel farms i think are the way to go even though they can't replace a power plant.

so every time i see an electric car, i see a coal burner. and the owner, after paying 41,000 dollars still has to pay PG&E to power it.

at this time, hybrids are a better use of one's cash though from an expense POV a mini copper is a better buy.

if electric cars are our future, i see a lot of people standing along the side of the road who didn't make it home before the thing lost its charge.

[HAL 9000 96]

There are people (in California of all places) who have PV (solar) powered homes along with electric vehicles that they plug in to their home. Imagine the possibilities.

Dixon has a realistic point.

I'm sure he'll be mouthing off against any government plan to stimulate solar energy usage in homes though.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

If everyone thought about it like this, we'd all be living in caves. Remember when computers cost thousands of dollars and did basically nothing? Remember when cell phones first came out? HD tv's? Remember when anti-lock brakes were only on Formula 1 cars? Ditto for traction control. There will be many technologies that will lead us away from oil. It's not a straight line from point A to point B. There will be many curves and stops along the way. The technologies will get cheaper as they do over time. Think about the computer the size of a small house and now pick up your laptop.

[Dan J 277]

electric cars are a great novelty, but at the end of the day, until they can get you across the country, they are worthless pieces of ######.

Most people don't normally drive cross country. Unless you live in a small town out in the middle of nowhere, most of your trips will be less than 40 miles. This car does have a generator for longer trips.

[HAL 9000 96]

If everyone thought about it like this, we'd all be living in caves. Remember when computers cost thousands of dollars and did basically nothing? Remember when cell phones first came out? HD tv's? Remember when anti-lock brakes were only on Formula 1 cars? Ditto for traction control. There will be many technologies that will lead us away from oil. It's not a straight line from point A to point B. There will be many curves and stops along the way. The technologies will get cheaper as they do over time. Think about the computer the size of a small house and now pick up your laptop.

+1

The ones stuck in the stone age will always find something to gripe about. Its amazing how we've done much as a species beyond butchering ourselves at all.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

trouble is that it is common knowledge that a huge percentage of americans sell their home every 5 years. solar conversions do not return one's investment for a very long time so only the rich who have money to waste will seriously consider.

Companies are now offering leasing for PV (solar) units that are transferable when the home is sold. You gotta stop being pessimistic and imagine the possibilities. Ingenuity is and will be the driving force behind such solutions. With government incentives, the solar energy industry is taking off, and as far as cost goes - people spend about the same on building pools in their backyards as they would spend on converting their home to solar.